This project will develop materials and coatings to reduce corrosion and improve the life span of boiler superheater tubes exposed to high-temperature biomass exhaust. This improvement
in boiler efficiency will reduce fuel consumption, fuel cost, and CO2 emissions.

Introduction
Industrial boilers are commonly used to make process steam,
provide heating and cooling, and generate electricity. These Biomass-Fired boilers can use biomass fuels as an alternative to fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and fuel oil.
One important component of a boiler is the superheater, an array of tubes that uses hot combustion gases to raise the temperature of steam, converting it from a saturated or wet state to a dry
state. Today, biomass boilers, and their superheater components in particular, are less efficient than those fired by fossil fuels.

Biomass fuels often contain contaminants such as potassium, chlorine, sulfur, and sodium that deposit on superheater tubes that have been exposed to combustion exhaust gases. Some of these deposits have low melting points and can, in their molten state, lead to accelerated corrosion of superheater tubes.

To avoid this problematic corrosion, the standard industry practice has been to reduce the temperature in the superheater.

However, reducing the superheater temperature also reduces the potential efficiency of the Biomass-Fired boiler.

This project will investigate corrosion mitigation strategies and related methods to improve the efficiency of biomass-fueled boilers. This effort will increase the use of renewable energy and reduce industry’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.